After a stroll around the Raging Bull’s Stable and uncovering the secret origins of the Beamer, our attention this week has turned to the iconic Prancing Horse. No, not that one—the one from Stuttgart, Germany: Porsche.
Let’s rewind the clock a bit. After successful stints at Germany’s major automotive firms, Porsche founder Ferdinand Porsche wanted to forge his own path. He did so by establishing his own design and engineering consulting company in 1931. During this period, Porsche became increasingly involved with a certain political party that was making waves in Germany at the time. Success would soon follow suit, as he collaborated with Austrian designer Erwin Komenda to work on an idea that originated from Adolf Hitler: the Beetle, also known as the “people’s car.”
Fast forward to 1948, and Porsche began building his own cars with the assistance of his son, Ferry Porsche, and 200 workers. The first Porsche to roll off the assembly line was the Type 356/1, referred to as the “Gmünd Roadster.” It was powered by a Volkswagen-sourced air-cooled flat-four engine that generated around 35PS of power and weighed 585kgs, enabling it to reach a top speed of 135kmph. However, something was missing. While the Type 356/1 sported the same Porsche silhouette we see today, it lacked the iconic golden shield of Porsche.
It wouldn’t be until the early ’50s that Ferry Porsche felt the need to incorporate a logo on the car’s bonnet. Now, this is where things get interesting. For years, experts have attempted to pinpoint the origins of the Porsche logo, without conclusive results. According to Porsche’s official account, on the suggestion of a Stuttgart doctor and original Porsche customer, Ottomar Domnick, the company organized a crest design competition among German art academies in 1951. The winner would receive 1,000 Deutsche Marks, and the company would finally have its logo. However, none of the submitted designs pleased Porsche management.
But soon, an idea would emerge from an unlikely source. In 1951, Max Hoffman – an Austrian-born US car importer who specialized in European sports cars – recognized the potential of German vehicles in the eyes of Americans. During a dinner with Ferry Porsche, he suggested the idea of designing a seal that reflected the company’s roots. Some reports suggest that Ferry drew the rough sketch of the crest we see today on a napkin that day. Others believe that Ferry collaborated with Austrian engineer Franz Xaver Reimspieß, who then came up with the idea for the logo.
Regardless of the chicken and egg argument, the basic design of the crest was established. To further enhance it, Franz drew inspiration from Stuttgart’s city seal, which featured a rearing horse. The idea was to pay homage to the city itself, which had been the center of horse-breeding and stud farms since its foundation in 950 AD.
If the horse represented strength, the red and black stripes and the stylized antlers reflected the traditional crest colors of Württemberg-Hohenzollern, a West German state created after the conclusion of the Second World War. Since then, the crest has remained largely unchanged. It wasn’t until June 2023, to celebrate 75 years of Porsche, that a new logo was unveiled. With very minor revisions, it continues to carry the essence of Stuttgart and all the Porsches that roll off the assembly line today.
